Schools working together is inspiring, as a group of 30 teachers, administrators and students discovered on May 19. Mosman Public School was host for the second meeting of the Zero Emissions Schools Network — Mosman. It was a lively and productive discussion.
Year 5/6 teacher, Kate Leary, and four members of Mosman Public School’s Sustainability Club, presented on their sustainability initiatives. These include rooftop solar and vegetable beds. Then students from the other schools working together gave updates on their own initiatives.
The range of ideas is inspiring: native bee hives, waste-free lunch days, vertical wall gardens, and auditing electricity usage with the Climate Clever app are just a few of the actions students are taking to reduce emissions.
Loani Tierney (Mosman Council) & Kate Leary(Mosman Public School) gave a presentation on worm farms and composting.
Beauty Point Public School will host the third meeting on August 4.
The Zero Emissions Schools Network – Mosman involves all eight schools in Mosman local government area, plus Cammeray Public School in North Sydney. If you are interested in creating a sustainability group at your school or a Zero Emissions Network in your LGA, the Zero Emissions Sydney North Schools page has a great range of resources to get you started. Jenni is also available for one-on-one consultations and you can contact her via schools@zerosydneynorth.org.au.
School Principals gathered for the first meeting of Zero Emissions Schools Network – Mosman on February 17. Eight schools from Mosman LGA were represented, plus Cammaray Public School (North Sydney LGA).
Mosman Mayor Carolyn Corrigan welcomed the schools, along with Jenni Hagland, team leader for Zero Emissions Schools, Ursula Hogben, co-founder of Zero Emissions Sydney North, and the Mosman Council Sustainability team.
Jenni says:
The energy and enthusiasm was great to see. It was so interesting to hear what every school is doing and find out their motivation for joining the group.
The next meeting of Zero Emissions Schools Network – Mosman LGA will be hosted at Mosman Public School on 19th May. I hope to get a speaker in to talk to the group about school composting and worm farms. This ties in with Mosman Public School because they have just got their gardens going and are working on composting at the moment.
Jenni is launching a regular email newsletter to the group, with news of grants, events and other relevant information. Jenni, Ursula and our team have built an information hub with information, case studies, how-to guides and resources at Zero Emissions Schools. Look out for how-to guides on reducing waste and installing solar.
If you are interested in creating a sustainability group at your school the Zero Emissions Sydney North Schools page has a great range of resources to get you started. Jenni is available for one-on-one consultations and you can contact her via schools@zerosydneynorth.org.au. Councils can also contact us if Council is interested in a Zero Emissions Schools Network for your LGA.
This Wednesday 17 February representatives from every school in Mosman come together to attend the inaugural meeting of the Zero Emission Schools Network – Mosman. The aim: to take action on sustainability. The Mayor of Mosman, Councillor Carolyn Corrigan, will launch this exciting initiative to help schools establish sustainability programs.
The aim, says Zero Emissions Schools leader, Jenni Hagland, is to motivate each other by sharing ideas and promoting best practice. Most importantly, the initiative aims to develop more schools sustainability action for communities and bring about broader awareness regarding the climate crisis.
Mayor Corrigan – Mosman Council Mayor, Loani Tierney – Environment Education Officer, Jenni – Zero Emissions Schools Network leader, and Ursula Hogben – Zero Emissions Sydney North Co-Founder, will be at the launch, along with all of the Mosman LGA schools.
Mosman Public School students announcing the installation of solar panels on their roof.
Find out more
Watch this space to hear how the meeting goes and how the plans unfold. Meanwhile, you might want to visit Australian Parents for Climate Action. This national group campaigns for funding for solar on schools and childcare centres.
